U.S. patent application number 09/771398 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-01 for public submission content library.
Invention is credited to Edwards, Eric, Fisher, Clay Harvey, Jonach, Kurt, Manowitz, Neal Jacob, Masu, Kengo, Sato, Robert Jay, Tree, John.
Application Number | 20010037319 09/771398 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27391460 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010037319 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Edwards, Eric ; et
al. |
November 1, 2001 |
Public submission content library
Abstract
A content brokering system for a public submission content
library facilitates the exchange digital content between a buyer
and a seller. The content brokering system provides a searching
function that allows a buyer to find content stored on the
brokering system, or a seller to find a request for content posted
on the brokering system by a buyer. The content brokering system
also assists the negotiations between a buyer and seller through a
financial function. The financial function further may handle all
the financial arrangements for the sale or lease of the content
between the parties.
Inventors: |
Edwards, Eric; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Fisher, Clay Harvey; (Belmont,
CA) ; Jonach, Kurt; (San Jose, CA) ; Manowitz,
Neal Jacob; (Mahwah, NJ) ; Masu, Kengo; (San
Diego, CA) ; Sato, Robert Jay; (Sausalito, CA)
; Tree, John; (San Francisco, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLAKELY SOKOLOFF TAYLOR & ZAFMAN
12400 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, SEVENTH FLOOR
LOS ANGELES
CA
90025
US
|
Family ID: |
27391460 |
Appl. No.: |
09/771398 |
Filed: |
January 25, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60181786 |
Feb 11, 2000 |
|
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|
60181845 |
Feb 11, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/80 ; 705/37;
705/51; 705/54; 705/57; 705/59 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 50/188 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/80 ; 705/37;
705/51; 705/54; 705/57; 705/59 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A computerized method for brokering digital content between a
buyer and a seller on a public submission content library
comprising: performing a search for content using user-specified
criteria; receiving a bid from the buyer for content found by the
search; sending the bid to the seller; receiving a response to the
bid from the seller; and releasing the content to the buyer if
agreement is reached between the buyer and the seller.
2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the search searches
for a request from the buyer for content having the user-specified
criteria.
3. The computerized method of claim 2 further comprising: receiving
an offer from the seller of the content in response to the search
for a request; and sending the offer to the buyer.
4. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein the offer comprises
a sample of the content.
5. The computerized method of claim 2, wherein releasing the
content to the buyer comprises: receiving the content from the
seller; and sending the content to the buyer.
6. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising receiving
the content from the seller prior to the search.
7. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the response from
the seller is a counteroffer and further comprising: sending the
counteroffer to the buyer; and receiving a response to the
counteroffer from the buyer.
8. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving
payment for the content from the buyer; and validating the
payment.
9. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein releasing the
content to the buyer comprises: watermarking the content; and
sending the content as watermarked to the buyer.
10. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising
soliciting a rating from the buyer and the seller.
11. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising: tracking
use of the content by the buyer in accordance with restrictions
placed on the content by the seller; and notifying the seller if
the use of the content by the buyer violates the restrictions.
12. The computerized method of claim 11 further comprising:
notifying the buyer if the use of the content by the buyer violates
the restrictions.
13. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving compensation for brokering services from the buyer.
14. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving compensation for brokering services from the seller.
15. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving revenue for advertisements displayed to the buyer and
seller.
16. A computerized server comprising: a processing unit; a memory
coupled to the processing unit through a system bus; and a search
function executed from the memory to cause the processing unit to
perform a search for content having user-defined criteria; and a
financials function executed from the memory to cause the
processing unit to manage negotiations between a buyer and a seller
of content found by the search function.
17. The computerized server of claim 16, wherein the financials
function further operates to cause the processing unit to manage a
payment from the buyer to the seller.
18. The computerized server of claim 16, wherein the search
function operates to cause the processing unit to search for a
request from the buyer for content having the user-specified
criteria.
19. The computerized server of claim 16 further comprising: a
watermarking function executed from the memory to cause the
processing unit to watermark the content.
20. The computerized server of claim 16 further comprising: a
ratings function executed from the memory to cause the processing
unit to solicit a rating from the buyer and the seller.
21. The computerized server of claim 16 further comprising: a
tracking function executed from the memory to cause the processing
unit to track use of the content by the buyer in accordance with
restrictions placed on the content by the seller and further to
notify the seller if the use of the content by the buyer violates
the restrictions.
22. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable
instructions comprising: a search function to perform a search for
content having user-defined criteria; and a financials function to
manage negotiations between a buyer and a seller of content found
by the search function.
23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having further
computer-executable instructions to cause the financials function
to manage a payment from the buyer to the seller.
24. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having further
computer-executable instructions to cause the search function to
search for a request from the buyer for content having the
user-specified criteria.
25. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having further
computer-executable instructions comprising: a watermarking
function to watermark the content.
26. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having further
computer-executable instructions comprising: a ratings function to
solicit a rating from the buyer and the seller.
27. The computer-readable medium of claim 22 having further
computer-executable instructions comprising: a tracking function to
track use of the content by the buyer in accordance with
restrictions placed on the content by the seller and to notify the
seller if the use of the content by the buyer violates the
restrictions.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Nos. 60/181,786 and 60/181,845 filed on Feb. 11,
2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to digital content storage,
and more particularly to an on-line library of digital content.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE/PERMISSION
[0003] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice
applies to the software and data as described below and in the
drawings hereto: Copyright.COPYRGT. 2000, Sony Electronics, Inc.,
All Rights Reserved.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Digital content, such as images, video, music, text, games
and applications, is widely available for purchase on the Internet
and World Wide Web. However, such content is predominately owned by
organizations and businesses. Ordinary consumers find it difficult
to manage the financial transactions necessary to offer their
content for sale to the public. Furthermore, the content that is
posted may not satisfy the particular needs of an consumer but
currently there are few ways in which an individual can find who
has non-posted content that does meet his/her needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A content brokering system for a public submission content
library facilitates the exchange digital content between a buyer
and a seller. The content brokering system provides a searching
function that allows a buyer to find content stored on the
brokering system, or a seller to find a request for content posted
on the brokering system by a buyer. The content brokering system
also assists the negotiations between a buyer and seller through a
financial function. The financial function further may handle all
the financial arrangements for the sale or lease of the content
between the parties. In other aspects, the content brokering system
provides a watermarking function to mark the content for limited
use, a ratings function that rates the buyer, seller and/or
content, and a tracking function that determines whether the
content is being used appropriately by the buyer.
[0006] Because the content brokering system handles the difficult
negotiations and financial details of selling digital content, an
ordinary consumer can more easily make his/her content available to
others through the public submission content library of the present
invention. Additionally, the search and content request functions
provided by the content brokering system enable an individual to
find content that is not available through most standard
channels.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an overview of the
operation of an embodiment of a public submission content library
according to the invention;
[0008] FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an overview of the
operation of an alternate embodiment of the public submission
content library;
[0009] FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of a computer environment
suitable for practicing the invention; and
[0010] FIGS. 3A-D are flow diagrams of a method to be performed by
a computer according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In the following detailed description of embodiments of the
invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which
like references indicate similar elements, and in which is shown by
way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may
be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail
to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and
it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and
that logical, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention. The
following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a
limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined
only by the appended claims.
[0012] FIG. 1A illustrates an overview of the operation of one
embodiment of a public submission content library 100 according to
the invention. The library 100 comprises a content brokering system
101 that is used by a seller 103 and a buyer 105 to exchange
content, such as images, video, music, text, games and
applications. The seller 103 uploads content 107 to the content
brokering system 101. Along with the content, other information may
be uploaded, including but not limited to information about the
content and sales/leasing prices. The content 107 and any related
information is stored on the content brokering system 101 for
viewing by potential buyers.
[0013] The buyer 105 uses a search function 109 provided by the
content brokering system to search the content brokering system 101
for content meeting a set of user-defined criteria, such as type of
content, date/time of creation, prices, etc. Assuming content 107
satisfies the criteria, the buyer 105 sends a bid for purchase of
lease of the content 107 to a finance function 111 provided by the
content brokering system 101. The finance function 111 forwards the
bid onto the seller 103. The seller 103 can decide to accept the
bid from the buyer, or may choose to submit a counteroffer to the
finance function 111. The finance function 111 manages all the
negotiation and financial dealings (tracking, handling, and
authorizing) between the seller and the buyer. In one embodiment,
the finance function 111 optionally offers suggestions to improve
the negotiations. For example, the finance function 111 could ask
the seller 103, "If the buyer would pay $X, would you sell?" and
act on a positive response by submitting a counteroffer of $X to
the buyer 105.
[0014] Assuming that a price is agreed upon, the finance function
111 receives and verifies the payment from the buyer 105. Once the
finance function 111 determines that valid payment has been
received, the content brokering system 102 releases the content to
the buyer 105, completing the transaction between the buyer 105 and
the seller 103. The finance function 111 also informs the seller
103 of the receipt of funds and the release of the content. In
alternate embodiments, the buyer 105 and seller 103 may bypass some
or all of the services provided by the finance function 111. In
particular, the payment services of the finance function 111 are
unnecessary if the seller is not charging for the use of the
content. If the buyer 105 sends payment directly to the seller 103,
the seller 103 must authorized the content brokering system 101 to
release the content to the buyer 105.
[0015] The content brokering system 101 also provides watermarking
services to the seller 103. Watermarking is a conventional
technique that restricts the use of the content to specific
applications or limits the further distribution of the content. If
the seller 103 requests watermarking, the content brokering system
101 applies the appropriate watermark to the content 107 and
releases the resulting watermarked content 117 to the buyer
105.
[0016] The content brokering system 101 also contains a rating
function 113 that asks both parties to rate the other party and the
content. The rating function 113 may ask for ratings when the
transaction is successfully completed and also when the
negotiations are terminated unsuccessfully. The ratings are
available for review by potential buyers and sellers on the content
brokering system 101.
[0017] The content brokering system 101 also offers a tracking
function 115 to the seller 103. The tracking function 115 allows
the seller 103 to determine whether the content is being used
appropriately and, if there was a time limit on the use of the
content, whether the content is being used beyond the time limit.
The tracking function 115 will search servers connected to the
Internet or other accessible networks for the content and, if
found, determine if the content is being used appropriately. The
tracking function 115 reports its findings to the seller 103.
Optionally, the tracking function 115 can also inform the buyer 105
of erroneous content usage (shown in phantom).
[0018] FIG. 1B illustrates an alternate embodiment of a public
submission content library 120 in which content 133 available for
purchase or lease from a seller 123 is not permanently stored on a
content brokering system 121. Instead the content brokering system
121 receives a request 127 for content having particular
characteristics from a buyer 125. The characteristics may include
type of content, date/time of creation, a sample of the desired
content, purchase price, etc.
[0019] The seller 123 uses a search function 129 provided by the
content brokering system 121 to determine if any requests have been
posted to the content brokering system 121 that match the content
133. If the search finds a request that is satisfied by the content
133, the seller 123 sends an offer 131 to the content brokering
system 121 addressed to the buyer 125 as a private message that is
forwarded by the content brokering system 121. In an alternate
embodiment, the offer 131 may be posted on a bulletin board
maintained by the content brokering system 121. In yet another
embodiment, the seller 123 may send the offer 131 directly to the
buyer through standard e-mail or some mechanism external to the
content brokering system 121. The offer 131 may contain a sample of
the content 133 so the buyer 125 can determine if the content 133
is what is wanted. To prevent against unauthorized use of the
sample in the offer 131, it may be of a lower resolution or
quality, a type overlay or a distorted version that permits the
buyer 105 a view of the content 133.
[0020] Assuming the buyer 125 does want to purchase or lease the
content 133, the buyer 125 submits a bid to the finance function
111 and the transaction processing proceeds as described above.
When agreement is reached between the parties, the content 133 is
sent to the buyer 125 to complete the transaction. In one
embodiment, the seller 123 uploads the content 133 to the content
brokering system 121, which then releases the content 133 to the
buyer 125 as in FIG. 1A. In an alternate embodiment, the seller 123
can send the content 133 directly to the buyer 125.
[0021] The content brokering system 121 can also supply a
watermarked version of the content 133 to the buyer 125 using the
watermarking services described above. The rating and tracking
functions previously described for the content brokering system 101
may also be provided by the content brokering system 121.
[0022] The content brokering system 101, 121 may obtain
compensation from either the seller 103, the buyer 105, or both,
for providing the brokering services described above. Such
compensation may be a flat amount per piece of content, a sliding
scale based on amount of content sold or purchased with a given
period of time, a percentage of the agreed price of the content, ,
or be calculated using other types of fee structures. In addition,
the content brokering system 101, 121 may receive revenue from
advertisements displayed to buyers and sellers.
[0023] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, a server computer
201 acts as the content brokering system 101, 121 and is part of,
or coupled to, an ISP (Internet Service Provider) 235 to provide
content over the Internet to buyers and seller of content. A client
computer 203 acting as either seller 103 or buyer 105 executes a
conventional Internet browsing application to exchange data with
the server 201. It is readily apparent that the present invention
is not limited to Internet access and Internet web-based sites;
directly coupled and private networks are also contemplated.
[0024] One embodiment of a computer system suitable for use as
content brokering system server 101, 121 is illustrated in FIG. 2B.
The computer system 240, includes a processing unit (processor)
250, memory 255 and input/output capability 260 coupled to a system
bus 265. The memory 255 is configured to store instructions which,
when executed by the processor 250, perform the methods described
herein. The memory 255 may also store content uploaded to the
content brokering system by the seller. Input/output 260 provides
for the delivery and display of the content to the buyer or
portions or representations thereof. Input/output 260 also
encompasses various types of computer-readable media, including any
type of storage device that is accessible by the processor 250,.
One of skill in the art will immediately recognize that the term
"computer-readable medium/media" further encompasses a carrier wave
that encodes a data signal. It will also be appreciated that the
server 201 is controlled by operating system software executing in
memory 255. Input/output and related media 260 store the
computer-executable instructions for the operating system and
methods of the present invention as well as the uploaded
content.
[0025] The description of FIGS. 2A-B is intended to provide an
overview of computer hardware and other operating components
suitable for implementing the invention, but is not intended to
limit the applicable environments. It will be appreciated that the
computer system 240 is one example of many possible computer
systems which have different architectures. A typical computer
system will usually include at least a processor, memory, and a bus
coupling the memory to the processor. One of skill in the art will
immediately appreciate that the invention can be practiced with
other computer system configurations, including multiprocessor
systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The
invention can also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices
that are linked through a communications network.
[0026] Thus, the public submission content library of the present
invention facilitates the exchange digital content between a buyer
and a seller. While the invention is not limited to any particular
arrangement and types of content brokering services, for sake of
clarity a simplified content brokering system has been described
that provides content storing, searhing, financing, watermarking,
rating, and tracking functions to its users. It will be appreciated
that the division of the content brokering services into the
functions described above are for ease in description and are not
limiting.
[0027] Next, the particular methods of the invention are described
in terms of computer software with reference to a series of flow
diagrams. A content brokering method illustrated in FIG. 3A
executes in a server computer acting as content brokering system
101 or 121. Supporting methods for the content brokering method are
illustrated in FIGS. 3B-D. The methods constitute computer programs
made up of computer-executable instructions illustrated as blocks
(acts) 301 until 317 in FIG. 3A, blocks 321 until 341 in FIG. 3B,
blocks 351 until 355 in FIG. 3C, and blocks 361 until 373 in FIG.
3D. Describing the methods by reference to a flow diagram enables
one skilled in the art to develop such programs including such
instructions to carry out the methods on suitably configured
computers (the processor of the computer executing the instructions
from computer-readable media). If written in a programming language
conforming to a recognized standard, such instructions can be
executed on a variety of hardware platforms and for interface to a
variety of operating systems. In addition, the present invention is
not described with reference to any particular programming
language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming
languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention
as described herein. Furthermore, it is common in the art to speak
of software, in one form or another (e.g., program, procedure,
process, application, module, logic . . . ), as taking an action or
causing a result. Such expressions are merely a shorthand way of
saying that execution of the software by a computer causes the
processor of the computer to perform an action or a produce a
result. It will be appreciated that more or fewer processes may be
incorporated into the methods illustrated in FIGS. 3A-D without
departing from the scope of the invention and that no particular
order is implied by the arrangement of blocks shown and described
herein.
[0028] Referring first to FIG. 3A, the acts to be performed by a
computer executing the content brokering method 300 are shown. When
a bid is received for content from a buyer (block 301), the content
brokering method 300 invokes a financials method (block 303) to
manage the negotiations and handle the financial arrangements
between the buyer and the seller. One embodiment of the financials
method is described further below in conjunction with FIG. 3B. If
an agreement is reached between the parties (block 305), the
content brokering method determines whether the seller wants the
content to be watermarked (block 307). If watermarking is desired,
the content brokering system creates the appropriate watermarked
content (block 309). The appropriate version of the content is
released to the buyer (block 311).
[0029] The content brokering method 300 also determines whether
tracking is desired by the seller (block 313). If it is, the method
300 adds an identifier for the content to a tracking list (block
315). The tracking function is described further below in
conjunction with FIG. 3D. Whether the parties have come to
agreement or not, the content brokering system 300 solicits ratings
from the parties (block 317) as further described in conjunction
with FIG. 3C below
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 3B, one embodiment of a financials
method 320 is described that is invoked by the content brokering
method 300 at block 303 as a result of receiving a bid for content
from a buyer. The bid is sent to the seller of the content (block
321) for consideration. When the seller's response is received at
block 323, the financials method 320 determines if the seller has
accepted the bid (block 325). If so, the financials method 320
notifies both the buyer and the seller that agreement has been
reached (block 327). The financials method 320 waits to receive
payment from the buyer (block 329). Assuming payment is received
within a predetermined period of time, the financials method 320
signals the content brokering content method 300 to release the
content to the buyer (block 331). Otherwise, if payment is not
received within the predetermined period of time, or if the payment
is not good, the financials method 320 ends and the content is not
released.
[0031] Returning now to block 325 and assuming that the initial bid
is not accepted, the seller may have made a counteroffer (block
333). If no counteroffer is made, the negotiations are terminated
and the financials method 320 ends without agreement between the
parties. If a counteroffer is made, it is sent to the buyer at
block 335 for consideration. When the buyer's response is received
at block 337, the financials method 320 determines if the buyer
accepted the counteroffer (block 339). If so, the financials method
continues processing with block 327 and proceeds as previously
described. If the counteroffer is not accepted, the buyer may have
made a new bid (block 341) and, if so, the financials method 320
returns to block 321 where it sends the new bid to the seller and
continues through the processing as described previously for the
initial bid. Otherwise, if there is no new bid, the negotiations
are terminated and the financials method 320 ends.
[0032] An embodiment of a rating method 350 is described in
conjunction with FIG. 3C that is invoked by the content brokering
method 300 at block 317 in FIG. 3A. The ratings method solicits
ratings from both the buyer and the seller (block 351), receives a
rating from either of the buyer or the seller or both (block 353)
and stores those ratings on the content brokering system (block
355) where they can be viewed by other potential buyers and
sellers.
[0033] A tracking method 360 illustrated in FIG. 3D is performed
periodically by the content brokering system to track content as
requested by the sellers of the content. In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 3D, the tracking method 360 searches for content that is being
used after the expiration date of its lease. It will be appreciated
that content having other use limitations also can be tracked by
the tracking method 360. In the present embodiment, the tracking
list has an entry for each piece of content to be tracked, with
each entry containing a content identifier specific to the content
and the buyer. The content identifier may be in the form of a
watermark. When the content is leased, the entry may also have the
expiration date of the lease, or the expiration data may be part of
the content identifier.
[0034] The tracking method 360 gets a content entry from its
tracking list (block 361) and determines whether the lease for the
content entry has expired (block 363). If it has not, the tracking
method 360 determines if there are more entries in the list (block
373) and examines the next entry in the list at block 361 if there
are. For each piece of content with an expired lease, the tracking
method 360 searches servers connected to accessible networks, such
as the Internet, for the content (block 365). If the content is
found (block 367), a message is sent to the seller (block 369).
Optionally, at block 371, a message may also be sent to the buyer.
When all entries in the tracking list have been examined, the
tracking method 360 ends.
[0035] While the methods illustrated in FIGS. 3A-D are described as
a continuous logical flow, one of skill in the art will readily
appreciate that the processes represented by the blocks do not have
to execute contiguously in time and that the methods may pause and
resume as necessary to carry out the functions described.
[0036] A content brokering system for a public submission content
library that facilitates the exchange digital content between a
buyer and a seller has been described. Although specific
embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be
appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any
arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be
substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is
intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present
invention.
[0037] The terminology used in this application with respect to
communications between clients and servers is meant to include all
networked environments, public and private, local and wide area.
Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited
only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.
* * * * *